Chandra Release - May 10, 2017

Visual Description: Crab Nebula

The image is a combination of X-ray, optical, infrared, radio, and ultraviolet data of the supernova remnant Crab Nebula. The X-ray component of the image appears as a bright, glowing purple mass in the center of the image. The X-rays are emitted by high-energy particles that have been accelerated to extremely fast speeds by the supernova explosion. The optical component shows light emitted by the nebula as a complex network of filaments and tendrils, reaching farther out beyond the X-ray. The nebula appears as a large, colorful cloud in green. In the infrared, the nebula appears as smudgier and broader tendrils and filaments, with some areas appearing brighter than others, colored in greenish gold. The radio component of the image displays the emission of low-frequency radio waves from the nebula in bright red, like a network of harsh lines. The ultraviolet layer captures the emission of high-energy radiation from the nebula as a fuzzier shape with many background stars, all colored in blue. All of these components work together to create a complex, vivid and colorful image of this celestial object.